The Fall

Saturday Morning

Her head turned around to smile up at me "Good morning." I leaned down to kiss those swollen pouty lips.

"Nooo," She tried to roll away, "I have the worst morning breath!" she protested. But I was having none of that.

"No worse than mine." Her muffled arguments trailed off as I took them right out of her mouth. "Are you hungry?"

"As a horse. Also. If you don't get me to coffee soon I'm going to turn into a goblin." Her expression was altogether far too serious for my liking. Being serious was my ticket for the day.

"A goblin horse?" I began to tickle her. "Do you turn into the grumpiest little goblin horse?"

"Nooooooo....." She rolled away from me and off the bed with a thump. "Except, well, yes. I do. So there had better be coffee when I get out of the shower or you probably won't ever want to see me again."

All I could see were eyes glaring at me from the edge of the bed, so her words held somewhat less of a threatening weight than I believe she intended them to have. Although I began to believe the goblin part held some merit. An adorable goblin. It gave me an idea.

"I'll give you two options. One - I go and hunt some coffee and assorted pastries while you shower all alone. Not knowing if I will ever return or if I was just the hallucination you believe me to be.

Two - We shower together, and wander down to the best brunch cafe in the city. It's hidden in the corner of the city gardens, feels like you have stepped into a fairy garden, with a menu fit to slay the goblin horse."

The glittering eyes that were all I could see of Claire, had one eyebrow raised skeptically through my spiel. It was time to bring out the big guns. "They have a better chocolate cake than the one I stole from you."

"Urgh fine." She threw her hands in the air "I know you want option two, I also know you know I want option one and aren't afraid to play dirty to get it. You win this round, thief, but know that I see right through you."

CAFE LE CHOCOLAT 

CLAIRE POV

Despite the lack of coffee, I was feeling almost human after that shower. Xavier massaged all the tension from my shoulders, neck and...other places. His shower head had about eight different settings and he was an attentive shower companion, ensuring every wet place received the appropriate amount of attention to make my vocalisations resonate through his apartment. Again.

My hand fit snugly inside his as we strolled to this supposedly 'magical' cafe. It was the perfect meandering place for a sunny spring morning. My legs were the kind of jelly that meant faster movement would result in my own demise.

Xavier had to make a quick work call, so I called Sally to fill her in on as much of my night as I could utter in public. Also to find out about where things had gone with Diego, to invite them for brunch and request clean clothes.

I sported a pair of Xaviers aviators, to fend off the cheerful sunlight intent on lancing my brain with little stabs of pain. Last night's dress was not exactly in the right state to see the outside world, but it would have to do until Sally could deliver. My companion cut the chiseled figure of a model in a casual white t-shirt and artfully ripped jeans. It was not fair. I didn't even have my makeup to dilute my appearance saturated with the hallmark signs of a walk of shame.

The enthusiastic babble coming from my phone informed me that Sally and I had been lavished with the same attention to detail at around the same times, without comparing notes too closely.

She has just finished putting a bag together and we were about to hang up when something caught my eye. Something that rendered me unable to compute as shock robbed me of basic functions.

"Sally." I said with the gravitas that holds the unspoken words; I need you. "Outside Cafe Le Chocolat." The sift change in tone had clearly freaked her out, but there were no words. So I hung up and hoped I was not actually going insane, while my focus zoomed in and out of the scene playing in front of me..

WELL FUCK

XAVIER POV

Claire's fingers were steepled. Tapping on her lips. Her eyes were fixed to the screen across the street. A garish display in the window of Cafe Le Chocolat.

My eyes were fixed on her. As she blinked and tapped and processed. She was putting pieces together that I didn't know if she should be putting together and I was powerless to stop her. Attempting to break the reverie had resulted in Claire shaking my hands off and putting a 'stop' motion in between us.

Sally came running around the corner. Brown curls bouncing in agitation as she took in the stance of her best friend, and whirled on me. "What the hell is going on Xavier!?" The words cracked like a whip as they flew from her lips and landed with full force.

Diego rounded the corner next, piled with bags, to watch in horror as his lady love in short shorts and a little red singlet top was ready to take down the local Monarch. Knowing that he was impotent to protect her from any retribution I deemed appropriate.

I waved his fear aside and faced the small ball of fury. "I...I...she... she hasn't moved or spoken since she saw the screen. Just...watching it over and over again." I answered. My eyes must have reflected the panic barely contained as my body fought a cascade of adrenaline calling for 'freeze, fight or flight'. The danger was real, but not something that I could either fight or fly away from, and Claire was using up 'freeze'.

Sally took all this in and she too froze in place. Eyes following Claire's gaze across the road and past a small row of tables to the source of her best friends catatonia.

Claire reached over to take Sally's hand as the next replay started, and slowly turned on me. Staring me down with acerbic blue over the top of my favorite pair of aviators. An impossible intensity that stripped me bare and found me wanting.

What Sally was now seeing, what Claire had been watching over and over again... was security footage of a robbery.

A huge owl flew past the window, a little wonky, then turned on a dime to fly past again, and disappeared from frame.

Sally's mouth had dropped, her gaze flicked to me and then back to the screen.

The owl re-entered the screen, talons first, assaulting the locked door handle to no avail, and falling to the pavement. He flew out of screen once more.

To come back in carrying a rock, smash straight through the glass of the door and sprawl across the counter. Tucking in his wings. Straightening up. Looking regal for half a moment, and slipping over the other side in a flurry of feathers

What followed was a twisted comedy of talons and flapping as the owl fumbled two huge slices of chocolate cake into packing boxes. The next battle was with the refrigerator in search of fruit. The chaotic process making more and more of a mess of the place.

It all culminated in an episode of watching an owl attempting to spray whipped cream over the small mountain of strawberries it had somehow neatly amassed.

What really happened was the owl being flung backwards with the jet propulsion of that cream canister. Flapping madly to gain control. Failing and covering the counter, the display cabinets, the store and itself with more whipped cream than ever made its way onto the strawberries.

The finale showed the drunk looking bird fly into the store window, but splaying itself with a thunk that you could feel through the screen.

It left an owl shaped cream outline behind, but through it you could still see the magnificent example of avian beauty shake it's head and retry exiting through the door it had already broken. Then flying back the way it had come.

With a plastic bag full of cake box grasped in its talons.

Claire had watched it enough times to know how long the video lasted, and as it began to play again she finally had one word to say.

"You."

** A/N Thank you for taking the time to read. I hope you are enjoying reading as much I have enjoyed writing! I would really appreciate if you could vote, or comment about something that made you smile :) **